


Control

by KarmaTheCreator



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-01-18 01:03:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 3,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12377688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarmaTheCreator/pseuds/KarmaTheCreator
Summary: Max decides to return to Spooky Island, but things don't quite go as planned.





	1. Jasper

It would be Max’s third visit to Spooky Island, but the second time that it was by choice.And it was the only time he had come alone.

Nikki still hadn’t let him live down the time he “screamed like a girl” on their first visit.

So he decided that he would prove that he really did fear nothing.

* * *

Midnight.

The night of the new moon.

Rowing was hard when it was just one person.Thankfully, the distance from Camp Campbell to Spooky Island, in the middle of Lake Lilac, wasn’t too large.He hopped out of the boat as it banked, but, unfortunately, it hadn’t fully secured yet, causing it to float away as soon as Max’s weight had left it.

Shit.Well, he wasn’t getting back to camp that way.He made a beeline to Campbell’s manor, which he was able to find easily due to the fact that he had been there twice before.

It looked the same as always: dark and dingy, with strange noises coming out of it.Avoiding the weird dungeon where the Quartermaster did things Max didn’t want to know any more about, he headed for the stairs.He began walking along the first hall he came across, filled with doors.None of them had anything interesting in them, just random junk and… the Quartermaster having sex.Again.   Max hurriedly closed the door before he saw anything else he couldn’t unsee.

He kept walking, hands in the pockets of his hoodie.He wasn’t exactly sure just what he was looking for, but he certainly wasn’t expecting it when he ran into the kid with dingy blond hair from his first trip to Spooky Island.What was his name again?Jasper…?Yes, Jasper, that was right.He walked out of the wall, straight into Max's path.“Hey there, bro-mine!”

Max groaned.“You again?”He had gotten tired of Jasper after five seconds when he first met him; now it seemed that Max would get tired of him even faster this time. 

It took Jasper a couple seconds to recognize Max.“Oh, hey!I remember you!”

Max walked straight past Jasper.“Yeah, no shit.Now fuck off, I’m busy.”

Jasper shot straight through Max, giving him the feeling of having a hole drilled into his torso.Max stopped short as Jasper, now directly in front of him, began to speak again.“Come on, man!I don't really have anyone to talk to around here; can’t you stop for a little while?”

Max looked at him, annoyed and a little freaked out by the fact that this kid had just run right through him.“On second thought, fuck it.I’m going back to camp and never coming back here.Even hanging out with _David_ beats having to be around you.”Max turned around and started to go back down the stairs, not even bothering to hold onto the railing.

Jasper didn’t go in front of Max this time, just stood behind him in a creepy way.“You sure?We could have fun…”

Max stopped at the sound of Jasper’s voice, his foot having just left the top step.He didn’t respond this time, just stood there for a minute before continuing to walk down the stairs.Jasper watched him, making no other attempts to stop him as he continued through the building.

However, the minute he reached the door, it swung shut.No matter how hard he pulled, Max still couldn’t open it.

Jasper rose up behind behind him, his eyes now entirely black, except for his pupils, which were now a dark red.Max turned around as Jasper spoke for the third time.

“Stop.”

“ **You cannot leave.** ”


	2. I am in Control

Max stood in front of the now locked door, a panicked look on his face.So much for fearless.“You… you maniac!”

Jasper smiled.“That’s a new one… Sure beats being ‘best camper.’Come on, Max…You hate Camp Campbell too, don’t you?I can help you escape…” Jasper held out a hand.Max stared at him with the same look of fear that he’d worn since the door had shut."Don't you wanna be my pal?” Jasper asked.

Max chose that moment to make a run for it, up the stairs, away from the entrance.

Jasper looks surprised for a few seconds before grinning.“Alright then. **I tried to be friendly**.”

He raised a hand and everything that could be used as an exit was sealed shut, including the windows.There was no getting in or out.

Max had reached the top of the stairs, Jasper close behind him.Max picked a random direction to run in, hoping to lose him.However, this was nearly impossible, as Jasper was not only a ghost; he knew the place from top to bottom.He followed Max easily, occasionally passing through the walls, gaining on him quickly.

It seemed like Max had been running for hours when he reached another door at the other end of the manor.Jasper hadn’t bothered to really try and catch him, even though he came close enough to do so several times.Perhaps he was waiting for Max to run out of energy.Max didn’t know; but then again, he really didn’t care either.He just wanted to get out of this hell-hole.

But Jasper had other plans.As Max pulled at the door, again, to no avail, the ghost appeared behind him once again.“You seem scared…”  
Max whipped around, still determined to prove that he has no fear.“Wh- no I’m not! There is nothing to be… afraid…of…”Max trailed off as he took in Jasper’s full appearance.There was something dark and shimmery that was rising up around the ghost’s arms.If Max looked carefully, it seemed to be glowing red.Jasper just smiled at him, his eyes still black and red.

The ghost grinned and raised a hand.The darkness shot towards Max without warning, twisting itself around his arms.“Ngh—!”Max tried to pull away but it held fast, lifting him up slightly.

Jasper shot forward, now directly in front of him. He grabbed Max’s wrist.

“Come on, Max!”

“ **Play with me!** ”

Max struggled again, desperate to escape, no longer trying to hide his fear.“P-please—!”

Jasper didn’t respond, just looked directly into Max’s eyes, unblinking.Max looked back with scared eyes.They just stood there for a minute, looking at each other.

Then suddenly, the moment broke.Jasper snapped his fingers, and the black substance twisted around Max shot directly into the latter.

It caught Max completely by surprise.He just stared directly at Jasper, his once fear-filled eyes now full of shock and horror.After a few seconds, he glanced down at himself.

It was then that Jasper took his chance.He smiled and suddenly shot towards Max again just as Max’s vision went black.

* * *

 

Max was on all fours in front of the back entrance, which was now unlocked.Jasper had vanished, or so it seemed.Max sat up, opening his eyes.But they weren’t his.

Instead, they were the bright blue eyes of Jasper.


	3. Familiar Faces

Elsewhere, the real Max opened his eyes to find himself in some sort of void.He looked around, but there was nothing but darkness in every direction.He called out, hoping that someone would hear him. 

“Hello? Anyone here?”

…No response.Damnit…

Max desperately wanted to return to his body, but he didn’t know how.He tried thinking as hard as he could about the real world.About Camp Campbell.David, Gwen, all the campers…

He didn’t want to admit it, but he missed them.He wanted to see them again.So he thought about them, in the hopes that it would bring him back.He closed his eyes…

When he opened them, the world was no longer black, giving him the illusion of existing again.

“Yes!I did it!I’m—”

But his excitement only lasted a few seconds, as it was then that he glanced down at himself.He was… transparent.

“What the hell…?”

Was he a ghost?What was happening to him?All he had wanted was to prove himself…

He glanced around him.He was still on spooky island.The room was empty, except for… _himself_?

“… _What the hell?!_ ”

“Max! There you are!”

He recognized Jasper’s voice as his body spoke to him.“I was wondering when you’d come back!”

“What- Where- What did you—”

“I took control, dummy!What did you think happened?”

“I thought I was _dead_!”

“And you are.In a way.The good news is, I am not!Not anymore, that is.I must admit it, I missed having a body…”

Max struggled to comprehend the situation as Jasper stood up and started walking towards the exit.The latter suddenly realized that Max was not following.He turned back towards him.

“Max?You coming, pal?”

“What?Where are we going?”

“We’re going to say hi to all your friends, of course!”

“ _What?!_ But—”

“Shut the fuck up.”

Okay, _that_ was creepy.Did Jasper just speak using Max’s voice?

“What?You can’t expect me to confront the camp using my own voice.Davey would recognize me instantly.”

“…You know David?”

“Well, duh!We were campers together!”

How long had this kid been dead???David was what, thirty?And Jasper had gone to Camp Campbell with him?!

“…Don’t just stay there, come on!”

Jasper left the room.Max was pulled along behind him.Seemed that his ghost was attracted to his body or something.

As the two of them left the manor, Max spoke again.

“How are we even getting back to camp?The boat floated away as soon as I got out of it…”

Jasper didn’t answer, just pushed aside a clump of tall weeds to reveal another boat.It was covered in algae, and clearly hadn’t been used in decades.Max stared, stunned.

“What?How did you think _I_ got here?”

Jasper tugged the boat out of the plants, towards the shore.He climbed in and began to row away towards camp, giving Max no choice but to follow. 

* * *

 

By the time they had reached camp, the sun was rising.David should be waking up at any minute.

Jasper pushed the boat away with his foot after climbing onto the pier.

“People would get suspicious if there was an extra boat here,” Jasper explained to Max, who rolled his eyes.

“GOOOOOOOOD MORNING, CAMP CAMPBELL!”

David was awake, obviously.Max couldn’t help but smile.He really had missed David, even though he hadn’t been gone for that long.But it felt like an eternity.

David glanced over at Max and Jasper.He smiled and ran over.“Max!I didn’t think you’d be up this early!What made you decide to wake up so soon?”

Jasper answered, using Max’s voice.“Figured I’d head over to Spooky Island and show Nikki that I’m not scared.”

_How the hell does he know about Nikki?_ Max thought.

“Then- were you up all night?!Did you get any sleep at all?Do you need to take a nap?You know, it’s not healthy to get less than 10 hours of—”

“David, I’m fine.”David looked at ‘Max’ worriedly before accepting his answer. 

“Alright, Max, I trust you.”David could have sworn that there was something different about Max, but he looked the same as ever.And yet he felt something strange when he looked into Max’s eyes.Was it sadness?Nostalgia?Something like that.He certainly wasn’t acting any different, so he decided it was nothing. 

“Anyway, Gwen and I want to talk to you about something!” That caught the real Max’s attention.What could they want to talk about with him?“Let me just go wake her up!”

David trotted off, over to the counselor’s cabin. 

As soon as he was gone, Jasper turned toward Max, using his normal voice.“What do they want to talk about?”

“Beats me.”Jasper was about to say something else, when David came out with Gwen, who was rubbing her eyes.

“David, I swear, if Max isn’t actually awake—”She trailed off as she saw Jasper.“…Oh.Alright…”

She approached Jasper and crouched down as to be closer to his height.“Hey, Max?David and I have been talking for a while, and we’ve been thinking…”She held out a piece of paper to Jasper.

“You don’t have to say yes to this, but we figured you could at least have the option of doing so…”

Jasper and Max looked at it together.It was… an adoption paper.Max’s eyes filled with emotion.“…David… Gwen… I…”

But they couldn’t hear him.Their eyes were on Jasper.His expression hadn’t changed.He let the paper fall to the ground with the words, “Fuck off, _Davey_.”He walked away, leaving David, Gwen, and Max stunned.

David’s eyes filled with tears, and Gwen hugged him comfortingly.Max just stayed there, silently crying, until he was forcefully pulled away by the lack of Jasper’s presence.


	4. Suspicions

Max caught up to Jasper, who was walking over to the campers’ tents.“...Why? Why would you do that to them?”

“What, you mean you wouldn’t have done that?”

“Of course I wouldn’t have!They were willing to give me a chance to have a real home, a real family… and you just threw it away.”

“Funny, I thought ‘the fearless Max’ wouldn’t let his emotions get the better of him.”

Max growled at Jasper.“You little _shit_ …”

“What are you going to do?You don’t have any kind of a body.You can’t be seen, you can’t be heard, you can’t even move away from me.You’re completely _powerless_.”

Max started to snap something in return, but stopped when he realized Jasper was right.Jasper was going to make his life even more miserable than it already was, and there was nothing he could do about it.

“…I’ll stop you!I'll find a way!”

Jasper smirked at him in an infuriating way.“I’d like to see you try.”With that, he turned away and marched off, into the tent Max shared with Nikki and Neil.They were both still asleep, Nikki clearly dreaming that she was some kind of animal.Max smiled sadly.She was a bit of a nuisance at times, but it made him unhappy, knowing that he might never be able to communicate with her again.

Jasper sat down on Max’s bed, looking at Nikki and Neil.He seemed to be contemplating them in a way, almost like a hunter watching his prey.

Max noticed this and stood warily, ready to do everything he could to prevent Jasper from hurting them, physically or emotionally.He knew he couldn’t do much, but he decided to at least try.

Jasper couldn’t help but take note of his expression.“Aww, afraid I’ll hurt your little friends?”

“If you touch them-”

“Relax, I not going to do anything to them.”He grinned fiercely.“ _Yet_.”

“What the hell are you planning, you-”

“Max?”

It appeared Jasper talking to Max had woken up Neil.“What are you doing up this early?”

Jasper gathered himself quickly.“I could ask you the same thing.”

Neil ignored him.“Who were you talking to?”

For just a moment, Jasper wore an expression that clearly said “ _Oh shit._ ”But just as quickly, it was gone, and he wore his usual pissed “I hate everyone” expression.“What the fuck are you talking about?”

Neil looked at him for a couple seconds, suspicious, but David burst in right at that moment.He seemed to have recovered, mostly.His face was still red from the tears, but he tried to look happy anyway.“Rise and shine, happy campers!We’ve got a big day ahead of us!”Nikki was awake within a few seconds.She seemed a bit drowsy, but was less so within a few seconds.David took one last look at Jasper before leaving the tent.

“What was that about?”Nikki asked, looking from Jasper to the tent entrance, which was now empty.

Neil shrugged.“Beats me.Max, buddy, you okay?”

“About as good as I could be at this shitty camp.”

Neil opened his mouth to respond, but Jasper stood up and left the tent.Neil watched him go, then looked at Nikki, who shrugged.


	5. Places, Everyone

During breakfast, Jasper scanned the mess hall, looking at each of the campers.David was in the corner, not eating much.Gwen had her arm around him.Neil was looking at Jasper warily, taking care to sit a bit farther away from him.Otherwise, everything seemed fairly normal.Well, normal for Camp Campbell.Nothing was ever normal there.

“…You sure you’re okay, Max?” Neil asked him for the third time that day.

“For the last time, I’m fucking _fine_!”

“Okay, okay.Just making sure.”

Nikki slid closer to them.“You guys ready for the play today?”

“Yep.At least this time, the flower scouts won’t try to get involved.”Max winced as Jasper made reference to one of his memories.He still wasn’t used to the fact that he could do that.

“I can’t believe Preston made _another_ sequel to Romeo and Juliet.The first one was bad enough,” Neil said.

“Right?” Nikki agreed.“Although frankly I’m glad Tabii took over for me.I couldn’t stand being Juliet.But I would have appreciated it if they hadn’t tied me to the ceiling.Good thing Gwen found me.”

“You wouldn’t be glad if you almost had to _kis_ —”

“YOU THREE!”

Neil was cut off by a shout from Preston.“What are you still doing in here?!YOU SHOULD BE PREPARING!!!”

“Jesus, Preston,” Jasper said, holding up his hands in defense.“We’re right here.You don’t need to yell.”

Preston sighed, pinching his nose.“Just get out there!GO!”

The three of them stood up, Preston herding them out the door towards Theatre Camp.When they arrived backstage, they noticed that several of the other actors were already there, although most likely also not by choice.As Jasper put on his costume, Max scanned the rest of the group.Nikki, Neil, Dolph, Space Kid, and Harrison.They all seemed nervous, except for Harrison.In fact, Harrison didn’t seem to even be thinking about the play at all.Instead, he was staring _straight at Max…_

Their eyes locked.Harrison's eyes widened, then glanced between Max and Jasper.He looked like he was about to say something, but Max shook his head frantically.He didn’t want Harrison to get hurt.Harrison nodded in understanding, then mouthed ‘I’ll try and help you.’

Max smiled in thanks.It was faint, but it was a smile all the same.He didn’t care about whether or not he was showing his emotions anymore.He just wanted his body back.

They both jumped as Preston walked in.“PLACES, PEOPLE!We’re starting in just a few minutes!Now, _don’t screw it up_.”

He then stepped onstage to announce the play.


End file.
